Two Lives Changed Forever
by mabelreid
Summary: One Shot. Danny's thoughts during and right after "The Triangle" Spoiler alert DL


_**A/n this takes place during and right after "The Triangle.**_

_**Disclaimer: see my profile**_

He didn't know why he just began blurting out questions to her that day. It was like his brain had lost control of his mouth. Okay, so that wasn't an unfamiliar thing. He'd spoken without thought many times, but never to her. He'd always planned each word even if they came out the wrong way. He always knew what he wanted to say to her and why, even when he'd cheated, he had justification and excuses that sounded great to him in his planned conversations. This was different.

He'd been reeling from the revelation that he was going to be a father for over a week when he saw her bolt from the lab to the food cart on the corner. Normally, watching her race for food would have made him laugh, but this time it just reminded him that he was going to have a baby with her. How had that happened? Okay, so he knew how it happened, but still…

So, he'd approached her and all those questions had tumbled out. At first she'd been trying not to laugh, and then she got serious about it. When he'd asked her to marry him, it was as unexpected to him as the other strange questions. Why in the world would he just blurt out questions about her families mental health? Then he has the nerve to ask if she want drugs or natural birth. Since when did he have a say. He'd cheated on her and he was sure she knew. And yet, she hadn't run to the nearest abortion clinic. Still, it was her body. The surprise was that she didn't slap him across the face and say, "how dare you?' He wouldn't have blamed her if she did.

Then he'd just blurted out a proposal, which hadn't been his intention on the busy streets of Manhattan in the middle of a work day. It was supposed to be something romantic with candles, and food, and all the stuff a guy is supposed to do for the woman he loved. She'd hesitated, but then said no. He didn't blame her. She didn't believe in him totally. She still didn't trust him. It was his fault. He was the one that pushed away the only woman he'd ever loved outside his family. He wanted to say the words that would make her understand and trust him again, but the moment passed. Was there anything he could say that would make a difference to her?

They walked back to the lab and it was as awkward as the winter day three years ago when he taken on of her hands to demonstrate a cadaveric spasm and then blurted out. "You hungry?" And she'd said, "I gotta get back to the lab," and he'd answered, "Yeah me too, me too." He'd given himself such a hard time for letting her lead him around by the nose, or so he thought of it at the time. What he wouldn't give for the question to be that simple this time. At least back then, he'd seen her refusal as a challenge, not as a total dismissal.

---

At the end of that day when they met to tell Mac of her pregnancy, his mouth worked on its own again by once more blurting out a thought that he hadn't meant to voice out loud. "So why won't you marry me?"

What was up with the fact that he kept feeling obliged to put Lindsay on the spot? If they had come through the last year smoothly and completely in love, he'd be justified in asking for an explanation for a refusal. That fact that was that he'd messed up! He'd slept with another woman. He didn't have the option of asking for an explanation. But, she surprised him again with her answer. She was forgiving him. He didn't deserve it, but she was forgiving him.

So, in the end, in that hallway on the way to tell Mac that their lives were about to change, he told her he loved her. Oh God, what a feeling it was to say it and mean it for the first time in his life. His legs felt like they weren't going to hold him and his heart was racing. His hands got sweaty and he hoped she didn't feel it though the blouse she wore. Compared to that, telling Mac was a breeze.

Now, he was lying on top of the covers of his bed with a book in his hands. He didn't know what the title was; he'd just picked it randomly from his small collection. The words didn't mean anything to him at all, but they helped the calm the total excitement that had been crashing through him since he'd said those three little words. He should be with Lindsay, but he'd promised to take it slowly. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't call her.

He threw the book aside and picked up his phone. "Hey Lindsay… I'm sorry it's so late. I just wanted ta know how ya are. Yeah, I can't sleep either. I meant what I said today. I really do love ya. Yeah, that's all I wanted ta say. Try ta get some sleep. Yeah, I'm gonna nag ya from now on. I want ya both ta be okay. " He laughed at her reply. "Okay, I promise not ta call every night. Good night Lindsay."

He put down the phone and shut off the light. Moonlight streamed in the window. He was still the same person he'd been hours ago, but now he felt so different. His life had changed forever, but somehow he knew it was going to be alright, for both of them.


End file.
